Huck Finn VS Tom SawyerIn Mark Twains’ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is a complex individual who is intelligent but also a tedious admirer. When Tom is not around, Huck is a leader and knows how to handle any trouble that comes his way. When Tom Sawyer comes around, Huck loses confidence and becomes a follower. As the adventure progresses, Tom makes an appearance and immediately takes control. Huck tries to voice his opinion, but is only criticized on how basic his plans are. Tom comments that Huck’s idea, in one case, is an “infant-school[y] way of going thing[s]” (180). Huck is more of a simple person, whereas Tom wants to make an adventure into everything he does.

Huck having a simple mind does give him the advantage. When Tom comes up with these ridiculous plans Huck could step in and tell Tom about his own plans, but he never does. If the group were to follow through with Huck’s plans, they would not only save time but they would also save the risk of getting caught and getting into trouble. Huck is a shy guy with a simple imagination. He does not have the wild ideas as Tom does. Huck thinks that he is not as bright as Tom because he cannot come up with theses elaborate plans, so he thinks that his plans are stupid, but actually they are better. In this case, simple is better and Huck should have stood up for his ideas.

When Tom and Huck tiptoed past Jim while he was in the kitchen, Jim came outside because he heard a noise. He says, “Who dah?” as he walks toward Huck and Tom and stands right between them without knowing (4). Jim sits down and says, “I’s gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin” (4). Jim soon falls asleep under a tree that he is laying against. Huck just wanted to get out of there, but Tom wanted to pull a prank before they left. Tom initial plan was “to tie Jim to the tree for fun,” but Huck said it would be too risky (4). Instead, Tom took three candles, and paid five cents for them as well as putting Jim’s hat on the tree limb right about his head. It is ironic that Tom will pull all of these pranks, but he will not steal. Tom acts as if he was a rough boy, but he will not break the law or the rules. The prank is just the beginning of the many adventures to come. Huck realizes even now that Tom’s idea was not the brightest. Tom could have gotten them both caught, but he doesn’t care because he just wants the adventure.

Tom has a group of friends called the “Tom Sawyer Gang” (5). He then comes up with this elaborate story saying that the gang will keep secrets and if anyone tells, their family will be killed. It is also the first time Tom mentions the books that he has read about robbing, and he tells the gang that they must follow the rules because that is what the books say. Even when Ben Rodgers, from the gang, suggests to killing the victims as soon as they kidnap them, Tom speaks up and says that’s not the “regular” way to do it “because it ain’t in the books” (7). Tom tries to be in charge of everything that happens in this gang, even if it is not the best plan or idea. The group of boys never ends up robbing anyone or killing anyone. This is just another one of Tom’s fantasies that will never come true. After Tom lies about the gang, Huck begins to recognize that Tom is a liar that makes up elaborate tales and he also wants to control everything. Huck “couldn’t see no profit in it” so he ended up resigning as well as the other boys (9). The gang “hadn’t robbed nobody” and “hadn’t killed any people, but only just pretended” (9). Huck thought that it was a waste of time, and he knew that Tom was lying about killing and robbing people.

When Jim and Huck are alone on the canoe for several days, Huck steps up and becomes the boss. He planned where and when the two would travel and decided that they would spend three days on the island, as they did. He takes on Tom’s role, and does a good job at it. He begins to care for Jim as a person, something that Tom would...

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